PUBLIC INFORMATION STATEMENT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE MEMPHIS TN
1206 PM CST MON JAN 3 2000

...1999 CLIMATOLOGICAL AND SIGNIFICANT WEATHER SUMMARY FOR MCKELLAR REGIONAL AIRPORT IN JACKSON TENNESSEE...

1999 WILL GO DOWN IN THE RECORD BOOKS AS A WARMER THAN AVERAGE YEAR...THOUGH THERE WERE SEVERAL MONTHS SLIGHTLY COOLER THAN NORMAL...MAINLY DUE TO COLD OVERNIGHT TEMPERATURES. 7 MONTHS WERE ABOVE NORMAL...
WHILE 5 WERE BELOW NORMAL. PRECIPITATION WAS WELL BELOW NORMAL IN ALL BUT THREE MONTHS...WITH A WET JANUARY BUT A BONE DRY SUMMER. BELOW IS A TABLE OF EACH MONTHS AVERAGE TEMP AND PRECIP:
 
 

MONTH AVGTEMP DEPARTURE RAINFALL DEPARTURE  RAINDAYS
JANUARY 42.6 +5.7 7.41 +3.47 13
FEBRUARY 46.9 +5.3  1.58  -2.81 9
MARCH 45.8 -5.4 3.95 -1.07 13
APRIL 63.4 +2.5 5.09 -0.27 12
MAY  67.1 -1.8  3.87 -1.57 12
JUNE 76.8 +0.1  4.27  +0.12 10
JULY 81.5 +1.3  2.48 -1.94 4
AUGUST 78.5 -0.1 0.78 -2.30 3
SEPTEMBER 70.9 -1.3  0.42 -3.33 3
OCTOBER 60.2 -0.8 3.43  +0.37 4
NOVEMBER 53.8 +3.2  3.59 -1.20 6
DECEMBER 43.0 +1.9 5.01 -0.37 8
YEARLY 60.9 +0.9 41.88 -11.33 97
(NOTE: RAINDAYS INDICATE NUMBER OF DAYS WITH AT LEAST 0.01" OF RAIN.)

THE WIDE RANGE OF TEMPERATURES AND CONDITIONS IN ANY GIVEN YEAR OFTEN LEADS TO RECORDS BEING SET OR TIED. BELOW IS A LIST OF RECORDS SET OR TIED (DOES NOT INCLUDE COOLEST HIGHS OR WARMEST LOWS) IN 1999.  KEEP IN MIND THAT RECORDS AT JACKSON DATE BACK ONLY ABOUT 60 YEARS COMPARED TO 100 YEARS AT OTHER SITES:

FEB 10...TIE RECORD HIGH...73 DEGREES
FEB 11...NEW RECORD HIGH...76 DEGREES
JUN 18...NEW RECORD LOW....53 DEGREES
JUL 30...NEW RECORD HIGH..101 DEGREES
AUG 01...NEW RECORD HIGH...99 DEGREES
AUG 11...NEW RECORD HIGH..100 DEGREES
AUG 12...NEW RECORD HIGH..100 DEGREES
AUG 31...NEW RECORD LOW....52 DEGREES...PREVIOUS RECORD 53 SET IN 1988
SEP 10...NEW RECORD LOW....48 DEGREES...PREVIOUS RECORD 49 SET IN 1998
SEP 17...NEW RECORD LOW....43 DEGREES...PREVIOUS RECORD 47 SET IN 1981
SEP 23...NEW RECORD LOW....38 DEGREES...PREVIOUS RECORD 41 SET IN 1995
OCT 20...TIE RECORD LOW....32 DEGREES...PREVIOUS RECORD 32 SET IN 1989
NOV 07...NEW RECORD HIGH...79 DEGREES...PREVIOUS RECORD 78 SET IN 1980
NOV 09...TIE RECORD HIGH...76 DEGREES...PREVIOUS RECORD 76 SET IN 1954
(NOTE: YEAR OF PREVIOUS RECORD NOT AVAILABLE UNTIL AUGUST 1999.)

...OTHER SIGNIFICANT WEATHER INFORMATION...

IN ADDITION...FOUR 'COLDEST HIGHS' AND FOUR 'WARMEST LOWS' WERE TIED OR SET IN 1999.  THE MOST SIGNIFICANT WEATHER EVENT IN JACKSON DURING 1999 WAS THE TORNADO EVENT OF JANUARY 17TH. MORE THAN HALF A DOZEN PEOPLE DIED AND OVER ONE HUNDRED WERE INJURED IN THE SEVERE WEATHER EVENT WHICH DROPPED MANY TORNADOES AND CAUSED EXTENSIVE DAMAGE THROUGHOUT WESTERN TENNESSEE.  AFTER THE JANUARY EVENT...THE BIG STORY OF 1999 WOULD BECOME THE DRY WEATHER WHICH SPARKED MANY BRUSH FIRES DURING THE SUMMER.

MISCELLANEOUS CLIMATOLOGICAL INFORMATION FOR JACKSON:
 

PARAMETER MEASURED 1999  NORMAL DEPARTURE
AVERAGE HIGH 72.7 70.9 +1.8
AVERAGE LOW 49.0 49.2 -0.2
HIGHEST TEMPERATURE 101 ON 7/30
LOWEST TEMPERATURE  5 ON 1/ 5
DAYS LOW 32 OR LESS 67 DAYS 73 DAYS - 6 DAYS
DAYS HIGH 90 OR MORE 69 DAYS 61 DAYS + 8 DAYS
DAYS HIGH 100 OR MORE 4 DAYS 3 DAYS + 1 DAY
LAST FREEZE (SPRING) 3/28 4/03 + 6 DAYS
FIRST FREEZE (FALL) 10/20 10/29 + 9 DAYS
GROWING SEASON 206 DAYS 209 DAYS - 3 DAYS
HEATING DEGREE DAYS 3146 3531 -385
COOLING DEGREE DAYS 1747 1744  + 3
GREATEST 24 HR RAIN 3.24 ON 1/22